Thunder's Tragedy
by Allen Itami
Summary: It was a dire prophecy. It told the tragic death of a dragon and promised the deaths of others if it wasnt prevented. Master Fung implores the other dragons for help, but will that be enough to prevent the thunder dragon's tragedy.


Master Fung paced his room with a troubled expression. Worry seeped deep into his heart and had a profound effect on his person. Dojo sat nearby, watching warily and waiting for an answer to the most pressing question the temple had had since the descision on who would be the Shoku Warrior. Master Fung stopped pacing, looking sadly down at a desk that was cluttered with papers, maps, and the like. A few scrolls were open, hand written in a rather feminine style.

He sat down and re-read through the handwritten scrolls, his expression a mixture of adoration and extreme grief before he rolled them up, tying them gently and then gathering the maps and papers, re-checking his facts.

"Dojo, assemble our young dragons. It is time to find the fifth." He said finally, his exression very grave. Dojo nodded his head, uncharacteristically silent before slithering away to find the four young dragons of wind, water, fire, and earth.

X

Raimundo, Kimiko, Omi, and Clay were training as usual when Dojo had come for them with the very important message. Now they waited eagerly as Master Fung walked towards them. Their eagerness died down when they saw how grave and serious his expression was.

"Master Fung? What's wrong?" Kimiko asked.

"Yeah, did someone steal some o' the Shen Gong Wu?" Clay asked, his accent heavy. Master Fung shook his head, looking each young dragon over, before sighing.

"No, though I deeply wish it was something so small. This is a much greater problem and will most likely be one of the biggest challenges of your lives as Xiaolin monks." He said. The four young monks looked at each other questioningly before staring at Master Fung with wide, worried eyes.

"This mission is of very dire importance, and the life of a very important individual along with the lives of us all hang in the balance. You must find the reincarnated Dragon of Thunder and bring her to the temple as fast as you can." He said, his voice as serious as he could manage without breaking. The four young monks stared at him wide eyed and dumbfounded for a moment.

"Dragon of Thunder?"

"Where can we find her?"

"HOW can we find her?"

"What's this all 'bout?"

The four monks talked up at once, each trying to get their imput in at once but were silenced by Master Fung raising his hand silently.

"I understand that this is new and troubling to you. However, I MUST insist that you depart immediately. Dojo has sensed a Shen Gong Wu that will help you locate her and it is of great importance that you find it before anyone else." He said. The four teens were hesitant at first, not sure if they should try to ask more questions or not, but quickly scrambled onto Dojo's back when Master Fung gave them a stern look.

"Who do you reckin this 'Dragon of Thunder' is?" Clay asked as Dojo took flight.

"A new warrior to fight on the side of Xiaolin!" Omi chirped in excitedly, practically bouncing with excitement at the prospect of a new monk to train.

"Well, maybe she is someone incredibly powerful?" Kimiko mused. Raimundo smiled.

"Maybe she'll actually be hot." He said, giving a yelp of pain when Kimiko slapped him across the back of the head. Dojo shivered slightly, turning his head to look back at them with one eye.

"The Dragon of Thunder is like a legend among both the Heylin and Xiaolin sides and goes back to Grand Master Dashi's time when the Xiaolin Dragon Warriors were first formed. There were originally five monks chosen for this, one who represted earth, fire, water, air, and thunder." He said, going back to look out at the sky.

"Why have we never heard of this Dragon of Thunder before?" Omi asked. Dojo visibly cringed.

"Becouse of the fate of all Thunder Dragons, starting with the first. The first Dragon of Thunder was a woman who was in love with both a Xiaolin Warrior, and a Heylin warrior. It is quite obvious this ended badly for her and the monks, and nearly ended the Xiaolin monks themselves, but she had used the last of her power to save them at the last possible moment. However…." Dojo trailed off as they started to sail over the ocean.

"However…?" Raimundo prompted. Dojo swallowed uneasily.

"However the Heylin warrior she had loved did not take too kindly to possible rejection from her, and had planted a curse on the Dragon of Thunder. Unlike the other dragons, who do not reincarnate after they die, the Dragon of Thunder is always reborn and always dies at the exact age as the first Dragon of Thunder. She does, however, contain a way to break this endless cycle of death and rebirth, but only the Dragon of Thunder knows it." He said. The young dragons shivered in silence, before Clay finally spoke up.

"But I don't understand, Dojo. Why is it so important that we find this young miss then?" He said. Kimiko nodded in agreement.

"I agree. I mean, it would be horrible if she died, but I don't really understand what Master Fung said about her being vital to our survival. He made it seem like she could potentially end us all." Kimiko said. Dojo nodded his head.

"The truth is, it is believed by many that the Dragon of Thunder could possibly end us all due to her own immense power. She is strong, like all of you, but anyone who knows electricity can know how dangerous it is. All previous Dragons of Thunder have fallen in love with a Heylin Warrior and a Xiaolin Warrior. In her last lifetime, Master Fung and I discovered that a way to break the cycle may actually be connected to her chosing which side she takes. Which side she devotes her love to." He concluded.

"So, this young lady has the potential to kill us all, but won't if she falls in love with a Xiaolin Warrior and chooses to stay with him, rather than some lowlife outlaw Heylin warrior?" Clay asked. Dojo nodded.

"We are not so certain, but we believe this to be the case." He said.

"Then we must find this Dragon and bring her to the temple, quick! And then we can start the wooing of the female!" Omi said. Raimundo rolled his eyes.

"Omi, you are not going to 'woo' this new warrior." He said. Omi glared at him.

"And why not?"

"First off, you said 'wooing of the female'. No female is gunna find that attractive. Secound off, you are a kid." He said.

"He-"

"Dojo, I want to ask, how old is the Dragon of Thunder when she dies?" Kimiko asked. Dojo looked back at them fully, his eyes sad.

"She always dies four days after her eighteenth birthday, just like the original Dragon of Thunder." He said.

X

The teenage girl walked down the street, twirling the closed umbrella in her hand with a leisurely passing. Earbuds in her ears blasted music and the cord, which had tape around some areas to keep it from falling apart, hung loosely around her as she walked. Her black trenchcoat that hugged her form had dark spots on it from water that drizzled so lightly that she hadn't thought the need of actually using the umbrella and her bleached snow white short hair hung closely to her head.

Just another day in (not so) sunny Pacific Grove, California for the young Aisling Hemlock.

The weather didn't bother her, she liked storms, expecially ones with thunder and lightning in them, and besides, she was heading towards the movie theater to catch the latest flick that was so popular on the net, so she couldn't help but be excited. Sure, it was an animated film made specifically for a much younger age group than someone of her sixteen years, but that never stopped her. Besides, a kid flick was good every now and then, right?

She looked up at the sky, using a hand to shield her eyes from the light drizzle of rain. The sky was gray and misty, the sun blocked out and yet she still felt like she needed sunglasses. She didn't mind this though, what she minded was this feeling of forboding she has had for the last couple of days. Everything had been going normal and fine; going to high school, going to her part time job, hanging out with her friends, but something seemed off and she wasn't sure why. Like a dream one would have and wanted to remember, but couldn't remember why.

She shook her head, water droplets flying from her damp hair. She undid the umbrella and held it above her to shield her from the light rain as the first boom of thunder clapped through the area and reverberated deep in her heart like an ominous sign of things to come.

X

Raimundo, Clay, Kimiko, and Omi searched the area Dojo had taken them to. It was a rundown old building, possibly once a bustling town that was now overtaken with trees, vines, and moss. The group only knew they were somewhere in the rainforest, and that they needed to find a paticular Shen Gong Wu before anyone else.

To their amazement, it wasn't that hard to find.

Omi had found it in one of the buildings, buried under dirt, broken pottery, and moss. It looked a little worn and possibly even broken, but Dojo assured them it would work.

"This was the final Shen Gong Wu ever made, purposefully made to help find the Dragon of Thunder." He explained as everyone gathered around. The Shen Gong Wu was golden colored, and looked much like a dragon wth thunderbolts crisscrossing it in a rather elegent and intricate design. They eyes of the dragon peering out gave each young Dragon a feeling of longing sadness, as if even the Shen Gong Wu knew the tragedy that would befall the Dragon of Thunder should she not be found.

Activating it turned out to be a whole different problem.

"How do we activate it exactly?" Raimundo asked, shaking the thing around after the third hour trying and failing to get it to work. Dojo sighed though he obviously looked very amused by their antics while trying to active the Shen Gong Wu.

"The Heart of Thunder is a Shen Gong Wu that can't actually be activated because it is always active. You guys have been wasting your time." Dojo said, trying hard not to laugh. He stoped and gulped visibly when the xiaolin warriors gave him death glares. He coughed, clearing his throat.

"The Heart of Thunder Shen Gong Wu was, like stated before, created for one sole purpose: to find the Dragon of Thunder. However, although it is always active, the Heart of Thunder wont point us in the right way unless it is touched continuously by the element of the Dragon of Thunder." He explained, jumping up on Raimundo's shoulder to get a better look at the Shen Gong Wu.

"So, all we need to do is zap it and it'll point the way?" Kimiko asked. Dojo nodded.

"Yup, pretty much."

"Next time, say that before we waste precious time."

"Right."

X

Aisling yawned, tossing the empty popcorn bag into the trash can as she exited the theater. As expected, the animation of the movie had been good, but the story was a tad weak. Aisling hadn't kept her hopes up, however, so she wasn't really disappointed.

"Seems like they don't make movies like they used to…" she sighed, looking around the street. There were not as many people out as before as the sun began to set and rain began to fall harder. Aisling sighed and unhooked her umbrella, holding it above herself to shield her from the pouring rain. Lightning flashed in the sky and thunder boomed in the distance, making a chill run down her spine. She smiled, looking up at the sky. This was certainly her kind of weather.

"Your headphones look like crap. Didn't I tell you I'd get you new ones whenever they started wearing out?" The girl turned to face the speaker, smiling warmly at her new companion.

"You know I hate troubling you with that kinda thing, Jack, so just let this be. Ok?" She asked. Jack Spicer shook his head, holding his own umbrella over his head. He pulled a plastic casing out of his trenchcoat pocket and handed it to Aisling.

"Ice, please. I have more money than what I know what to do with. Hence why I gave you that debit card linked to my account. I just wish you'd use it more." He said, rolling his eyes but smiling at her. Aisling took the plastic casing and looking it over before smirking at him.

"Really, Jackie? Pink skull headphones? Of all the colors-"

"Those are some really good ones, I thought the skulls would make up for it, and they only had them in pink or vomit green. I figured you'd preffer the pink." He said, smiling. Aisling smiled, shoving the new headphones in her bag and taking out her old ones, pocketing them in her coat pocket.

"I heard you started spending all your time in some Asian country. What was it, China? Did you finally get a girlfriend?" Aisling asked, smiling a little mistcheviously. Jack blushed and shook his head.

"No, nothing like that. Hey, Ice, wanna go out for dinner? I know a great greek restraunt nearby!" He said, grabbing her arm and walking her down the road. Aisling laughed and let him lead her. When they got to the restraint, Epsilon Restraunt as it was called, Jack informed her that he was paying for it all, and to order whatever she saw fit on the menu. After the two ate, Jack offered dessert as well.

"I don't really like all the desserts they have on the menu. Can we go for ice cream instead?" She asked. Jack, obviously, said they would. Which was how they came to be inside the ice cream store with Aisling leaning towards the glass to pick her own ice cream.

"So how has school been going? You're keeping up with your grades, right?" He asked. Aisling nodded, smiling up at him.

"Of course I am! I may not like where I live, but that doesn't mean I'd let that affect my academic career." She said, asking for sample that she quickly devoured.

"That's good. If you don't like where you live, why not come live with me? I got pleanty of room at my house, and my parents are never there so I doubt they'd protest." He said. Aisling shook her head.

"We've been through this before, Jack. I am not moving in with you." She said, finally making her choice and telling the clerk what she wanted. Jack sighed, giving her a tired look.

"I know, but why? You've never told me that, and if you don't like living here so much then why would you refuse living with me? I could give you anything you wanted, tended to your every whim and fancy if you wanted that!"

"That is the exact reason why, Jack." She said, smiling as she grabbed her ice cream from the clerk and Jack paid for it.

"I don't understand." he said, the hurt evident in his voice. Aisling sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, Jack. The reason is becouse you say you'll 'tend to my every whim and fancy'. With you I would have no need to do anything, really. I'd never reach my full potential if I stayed with you, at least not yet. Let me be on my own for a little while, and then I'll see about it. Jack, I really care about you, so please dont take this badly, alright?" She said, smiling sadly but kindly at him. Jack blushed and looked to the side.

"You promise you'll keep considering it though, right?" He finally asked. Aisling chuckled, smiling at him.

"Of course Jack. Hey, I need to get my hair re-dyed and I kinda wanna get it cut. Mind going with me?" She asked. Jack smirked at her.

"Of course! but I really think you look better as a brunette."

"I hate being a brunette. White hair is MUCH prettier, now come on!"

x

The four dragons were more than a bit confused when they landed in Carmel California, the sky bleak and gray, threatening to rain at any moment.

"The new dragon should be around here, correct?" Kimiko asked, zapping the dragon some more with one of her electronic devices. It pointed up the street from them, and as cars passed by they knew it must lead to a freeway most likely.

"Looks like we are a bit off." Raimundo said, heading back to Dojo to continue flying. The rest of the dragons nodded their heads, heading back to Dojo to continue their search.

x

Jack had taken off his goggles, toying with them as Aisling got her hair cut behind a counter that he couldn't see behind. He was rather curious to see what kind of hairstyle she would get, despite the fact that he liked her long wavy hair before. After a little while, Aisling finally walked from behind the counter.

"Well? How's it look?" She asked. She had gotten her hair cut short, styled only slightly so that it spiked just a bit. Jack thought it looked rather feathery and looked great with her kind of face.

"I... It's really cute!" He mumbled, blushing. Aisling smiled at him, obviously delighted by his reaction.

"Well, that is what I was going for! I'm happy that you like it tho." She said. Jack got up from his chair and scratched the back of his head, smiling a little nervously.

"So, is there anything else you wanted to do today? I'm free still, so..." He offered. Aisling continued smiling and looked out at the street. It was still drizziling and she could hear claps of thunder every now and then.

"I wanna go to the beach!"

"In this weather? You might get sick!"

"Jaaaaaaack~! I wanna go to the beeeaaaaach!" Aisling whined, looking up at him with a pouty face she knew he wouldn't resist. He couldn't and now tried vainly to keep an umbrella above her head as she danced around the beach in joy as lighting flashed in the sky followed by booming thunder. The way she swayed and moved was like the thunder was a large drum, booming a beat only she could really fathom. Jack stopped and couldn't stop staring at her as she twirled around, wet sand being kicked up, the way she swayed, the way her coat and hair clung to her from the water, the way she moved that was just her. It was all combined in a way that Jack was struck by how free she really was. Bound by something he couldn't fathom, yet free. He blushed when he realized that he couldn't help but think of her as beautiful as well. He shook his head, wondering just where that thought had come from. Aisling was his friend from childhood, his only real companion in those younger years. Thinking of her as anything else was confusing him, and he wasnt so sure he liked it just yet. She glanced over at him, her bright silver-gray eyes twinkling with mischeif and joy as she smiled so greatly Jack was wondering how it didn't rip her face in two.

"You wont have any fun if you don't get wet to, Jackie!" She said. Jack shook his head.

"You get drenched and possibly struck by lightning. I'll stay dry under the umbrella, thanks!" He called back. Aisling laughed delightfully.

"Jaaaack! If anyone gets hit by lightning it would be you!" She giggled. Jack smirked, chuckling lightly.

"Yeah, yeah that is probably true." He said. Unable to hear him, Aisling flashed him another smile before dancing some more. Stopping only to tell him she needed to use the restroom and then bolted to the nearby public restroom. Jack sighed and adjusted the grip on his umbrella. He'd purposefully cleared his schedual for that day to visit Aisling, and he knew it wouldn't be fun to return to his usual activities. He wondered again if perhaps he should just give up on trying to be an evil boy genious. Getting the crap beat out of him on a regular basis wasn't exactly fun for him, and at least with Aisling he could enjoy himself a bit. He sighed when he heard something odd, and then got a swift kick to his spine that sent him flying rather painfully into the sand. He coughed some sand out indignantly and looked back to see those four wretched monks and their dragon glaring at him.

"Why are you here, Spicer?"

"Yeah, Outlaw! What buisness you got 'ere?"

They all seemed to yell at him at once. He got to his feet, dusted off his jacket, and then glared at him.

"Ok, for once, I have NO idea why you guys attacked me. I haven't done ANYTHING even REMOTELY 'evil' today. I happen to be hanging out with a childhood friend of mine, and I would actually preffer it if she DIDN'T know about you guys or what I do. So, unless you actually have a good reason for being here other than to kick the crap out of me to releive stress or something I would like to KINDLY ask you to leave." Jack said, grinding his teeth. He looked over at the restrooms worriedly. For once, he was glad Aisling tended to take quite a bit of time in the restroom for some unexplained reason. She hadn't come out yet, and the thought of her learning what he did made him sick to his stomach. What if she rejected him for it...? He wasn't sure what he'd do, but just the thought of it made him want to vomit. With the monks here, he knew he'd be screwed unless they left. Sadly for him, the monks didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon.

"A friend?"

"Yeah right! Are you terrorizing some innocent girl?"

"Maybe he's paying her!"

"That would be like him."

"SHUT UP! DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!" Jack blew up at them, actually shocking them to the point of speechlessness. Blinking, Jack was surprised as well.

"Jaaaaack~! Jaaaaaaaaaaack!" The group heard someone yelling. Looking up, Jack noticed Aisling waving at him rather frantically. He waved back and looked back at the monks.

"I'm begging you guys, all right? Just PLEASE don't let her know what I do! It'd actually be much better for me if you'd just leave and come back tomarrow maybe!" He said, running off to Aisling before the monks could respond. They stood there speechless and watched him run up to a girl they couldnt really make out before looking at each other.

"We need to find the Dragon of Thunder. Kimiko, where is the Heart of Thunder pointing?" Raimundo asked. Kimiko shook her head and zapped the dragon. It pointed to where Jack had run up and left with his friend.

"I got a really bad feeling right now..." Kimiko muttered as they followed the path the dragon paved for them.

X

"So were those friends of yours, Jack?" Aisling asked as they passed a small thrift shop. She looked through the window but didn't stop. Jack followed close behind, holding a bag that contained some items she had asked for when passing a previous store a few doors down. Jack shrugged his shoulders, gulping a little uneasily.

"More like aquintances. We know each other, but I wouldn't say we were friends."

"So more like the people at your parent's parties."

"Yeah, sorta." Jack said, looking up at the sky. It was still dismily gray, but it wasn't raining. Aisling was enjoying herself, however, so Jack didn't mind. He glanced over at her and saw her looking in a small pet shop, eyeing a cute kitten in the window. She glanced over at him, but didn't make any other suggestions that she wanted it. She continued walking but Jack paused to take a look at it. It was at least a year old and was a gray spotted tabby. He remembered hearing that this paticular breed was one of the rarest and came from egypt, athough he couldn't remember the name of it. He glanced up at her and saw her waiting up ahead of him. He shrugged his shoulders and followed her, but made a mental note to possibly return and get the cat. They spent the rest of the day walking through the street, looking into shops and eating at a restraunt. A few times Jack saw the monks snooping around, but Jack would very quickly grab Aisling's hand and lead her away from them. The last thing he needed was them to ruin their day out.

By the end of the day Aisling said she was tired and wanted to go back to her house. Jack gave her a lift and dropped her off in front of her house. He hugged her tightly, and wondered how mad she would be if he just kidnapped her to take her away from here.

"See you again sometime? Thanks for the headphones!" She said, smiling at him. Jack smiled back, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah! You're welcome. I hope you enjoy 'em. I'll see when I can slate my schedual again. Today was definately something I needed." Jack said. Aisling didn't say anything but she hugged him again.

"Good, becouse I miss having a friend around." She muttered. Jack felt his heart tug. Of course she wouldnt have friends in such a rich neighborhood, but he didn't voice anything like that or tell her to try talking to people at school. Sometimes it was actually more painfull to tell someone to try, rather than to let them go on as they are. This was one of those times.

"Be sure to call sometime, ok?" Aisling asked. Jack nodded.

"Of course, I'll be sure to call!" He said. Aisling giggled and the two parted ways. Jack felt forboding as he left, but he ignored it.

Aisling snuck into her house, the door closing with only a soft click. She tiptoed through the hall and into her bedroom. Before she went in she spared a glance to a door with a sign on it, a somewhat worried expression on her face. When she shut her bedroom door she let out a sigh and looked around her room. It wasnt all that special: A bed, a closet, a desk, and a dresser. Some posters from movies she liked, most animation movies like How to Train your Dragon, Tangled, and some anime along with some other movie and game posters like Eragon, Final Fantasy, and Pokemon were taped to her walls. On the dresser there were small figurines she had collected over time from her various favorite games and movies, and on the desk there was a laptop, some papers with pens and pencils on top, a computer tablet, and a small music box. There was only one drawer in the desk and she knew it was locked. She had the only key on a chain around her neck. She went to her closet and opened it. It revealed clothes hanging on a rack with the shelves being occupied by some books of various kinds. Fiction, non-fiction, biographies, manga, graphic novels, classics lined the shelves. She grabbed a soft materialed nightgown and quickly changed into it. It was a simple white dress of a nightgown, not really fancy although some would say it was definately flattering to the female form.

She slipped into bed without another thought, and let herself slip into dreams.

She was rudely awakened about an hour later by someone opening her window, knocking something off of her desk and letting it fall to the floor followed by some cursing.

"..shoulda just knocked!"

"It's midnight, Kimiko! What do you think will happen?"

"Shhhh!"

"...Mmmm... The heck?" Aisling muttered, sitting up on her bed and rubbing her eye. She blinked a few times and looked at the people in front of her, recognizing them slightly as the people Jack had been talking to at the beach. She stared at the four monks wide eyed, before giggling.

"OK, so what? You here to rob me or something?" She asked. The monks all looked at each other, and Aisling noticed the girl was holding a really neat dragon statue in her hand that seemed to be staring straight at her. It was making her actually a little uncomfortable.

"Err, actually... We were looking for someone." The girl said, fidling with the statue. It came to life suddenly and pointed directly at Aisling.

"... That person is me, isnt it?"

"... yeah."

"Ok. Whatever. What do you need me to do?" Aisling said, fully sitting on her bed. It took them at least an hour to fully explain everthing to her, and when they had she stared at them for a few moments before shaking her head.

"It sounds like such a fantastical tale, and really, a lot of fun. However, I can't just drop my life for this. I can't just pack up and leave, ruin my academic career, simply becouse you guys say that it is 'my destiny' or something like that." She said. Dojo nodded his head, but looked at her seriously.

"Please understand that we are doing this to save your life. If it is a simple matter of schooling we can provide such things at the temple. It would be similar to homeschooling, certainly, but at the least your academic career would not be jepordized." Dojo said. Aisling sighed, looking them all over.

"... If I refuse, will you force me to go?"

"... not immediately if we can help it. We would only force you to leave if your life became increasingly threatened."

"... Give me twenty minutes to pack some things. However, I am only doing this if you allow me to continue with schooling. I will perform the duties of a monk, but I will only do so so long as you allow me to continue being a student and furthuring my academic career."

"Yes, of course!"

Thus, Aisling began her life and journey as the Dragon of Thunder. She wasnt sure how she would do, what route her life would take from there, but she hoped it would be successful. She wondered what Jack would think if he knew, and made a silent promise to tell him later on when she was settled.

x

x

xx

x

x

For the record, they are actually pronouncing Aisling's name wrong.

Anyway, this is sort of a pet project I was working on in my freetime and is a rewrite of a much older fanfic I was doing called Dragon of thunder, Dragon of Wind (which is now discontinued and this will take a much different swerve than that fanfic)

Updates for this will be sporadic at best.


End file.
